MISSOULA, Mt.—Avery Carnahan (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) accounted for three of the Huskies nine stolen bases as the Northern Illinois University softball program dropped a pair of games against Holy Cross and Montana this afternoon.
The Huskies fell 5-3 to Holy Cross in the opening game of the day before falling 7-6 against Montana.
"We put ourselves in a position to win both games," said NIU head coach
Christina Sutcliffe. "We need to work smarter and close games out. Lily (Cassell) did a great job in her first outing of the season, and we look forward to having her back in the circle. Ellis (Erickson) continues to have a strong season for us."
Holy Cross Recap (Holy Cross 5, NIU 3)
Caitlyn Shumaker (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) recorded her second triple of the season as she recorded the first hit of the day for the Huskies.
Ellis Erickson (Lutz, Fla./Freedom) singled through the left side as Shumaker scored the first run of the day for the Huskies. Erickson nabbed the first of five stolen bases for the Huskies before scoring on
Madison Mathews' (Yuma, Ariz./Cibola) RBI double.
The Crusaders of Holy Cross trimmed into the Huskies lead in the bottom of the first, scoring an RBI double to left field.
Carnahan opened the second inning with a single to left center before stealing second base. Carnahan stole third base and would score on a throwing error by the Crusaders' pitcher. The Huskies had three stolen bases in the second inning as
Fiona Crane (Evergreen Park, Ill./Mother McAuley) grabbed her first stolen base of the season.
The Crusaders put up three runs in the fourth inning on four hits to take a 4-3 lead over the Huskies. Continuing to shut the Huskies out, the Crusaders added the final run in the sixth inning to secure a 5-3 victory over the Huskies.
In her first game of the season,
Lily Cassell went the distance for the Huskies. Cassell struck out three batters and issued only one walk.
Montana Recap (Montana 7, NIU 6)
Inching closer to the school record, Shumaker earned her eighth stolen base of the season after reaching on a single to left field. With the next at bat, Erickson hit her third home run of the season to bring home Shumaker as the Huskies took a 2-0 lead.
Katy Ramage (Germantown Hills, Ill./Metamora Township) singled to reach base to start the second inning before grabbing her fifth stolen base of the season.
Trinity Jones Estrada (Sylmar, CA./John F. Kennedy) had an RBI single as Ramage scored the third run of the day for the Huskies.
The Grizzlies of Montana landed on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning, trimming the Huskies lead to two. The Grizzlies doubled their score in the third inning to trail NIU 3-2.
The Huskies claimed two stolen bases in the fifth inning as
Brianna Pechman (West Chicago, Ill./West Chicago Community) and Erickson added to their season totals.
Jenna Turner (Marengo, Ill./Marengo) had a 2 RBI single, sending Erickson and Pechman across the plate. Ramage had an RBI single as Mathews scored the sixth and final run for the Huskies.
Trailing NIU 6-2 heading into the bottom of the fifth, the Grizzlies began a late comeback against NIU. Montana added two runs on two hits in the fifth to cute the Huskies lead to two. The Grizzlies defense shutout the Huskies in the sixth and seventh innings. Montana scored two runs on a 2 RBI single before hitting a walk-off RBI single to defeat the Huskies 7-6.
The Huskies resume action tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. as they take on Holy Cross. The Huskies will close out tomorrow with a game against Montana at 3:30 p.m.
